Kaleidoscope Night
by Ryeloza
Summary: Leo has a very interesting encounter while working at P3 one night. Takes place during season 2.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Charmed, _but boy if I did...

**Setting: **January 2000

**Kaleidoscope Night**

Leo didn't mind working at P3, and not just because it meant seeing Piper on a regular basis. Frankly, it was interesting to see the people and listen to the music and just take in the atmosphere. As a Whitelighter, Leo didn't frequent nightclubs very often; it was like getting a view into another world and one very far removed from the one he had grown up in.

It was enlightening, in a way.

Of course, it was always better when Piper was there, especially if she was there alone. No sisters. No _Dan_. Even if he and Piper never got back together he liked that he had this time with her alone. Alone in a crowded club, of course, but interacting with her in a way he hadn't had much opportunity to in the past. For the rest of his life, he'd look back on these times alone with Piper as some of the best.

This particular night, though, Piper was not there and Leo was left with simply imagining her presence while he bussed tables. The drape of her hair as she pushed it out of her way; the smell of her when she stood close by; the light in her eyes when—

That was when a young woman bumped into him and interrupted his musing.

"Sorry," said Leo automatically, putting a hand on her shoulder to steady her. She looked up at him with bleary eyes and blinked a few times, as though trying to put him in focus. Compared with her, Leo was utterly nondescript; she was wearing a short purple wig with a silver beret and a matching silver halter top, a short bright blue skirt and a pair of pink and white rain boots. Leo wondered vaguely if she had been intoxicated when she'd gotten dressed tonight, then decided it was none of his business. Slowly, he let his hand drop from her shoulder.

"You're a man!" said the girl, swaying slightly.

"Uh, yeah," said Leo.

"Great!" The girl slapped a hand against his upper arm. "Do me a favor and pretend to be with me, okay?"

"What?" asked Leo. He put up his hands and tried to back away, but he simply bumped into the table he had been wiping down. "No—no! I can't."

"You hafta!" said the girl. "This guy won't leave me alone!" She laced her fingers through Leo's and tugged him towards the dance floor. As soon as they were in a throng of people she dropped Leo's hand and threw hers around his neck. Unfortunately, she took this as a reason to no longer use her legs to support herself; as she went limp, Leo was forced to wrap his arms around her lower back just to keep her hoisted upright.

"Look," he said, speaking loudly over the music. "I really shouldn't be doing this!"

"Why not?" asked the girl even more loudly than was necessary. A few of the other couples around them turned to look at her curiously and Leo felt himself blush. He couldn't remember the last time he had danced with a girl, and he certainly had never danced like this; every inch of her body was pressed against him. "You got a girlfriend?" she added.

Leo hesitated. It would be so easy to just say yes, shake off this odd person and walk away, but he'd never been a very good liar. Then again, he really didn't want Piper or her sisters to walk in and see him. Even if he wasn't with Piper, he wanted to be with her, and this felt odd and wrong and—

"Hello!" said the girl, stretching out the 'o' sound for a ridiculously long time. Her breath smelled strongly of alcohol and Leo made a mental note to tell Abbey to cut the girl off.

"No," said Leo finally. "But I'm in love with the woman who owns this place. I'd rather her not see you with me."

"You love her but'cha not dating her?" asked the girl. "How come?"

"She's got a boyfriend," said Leo.

"She's an idiot," said the girl. "'Cause you smell real good." As if to prove this, she pressed her nose against Leo's chest and breathed in deeply. Leo felt the absurd desire to laugh, but suppressed it; he didn't want to encourage her. When the girl raised her head to look at him again, she said, "Where is she? I'll tell her!"

"Oh no," said Leo. "I don't think so."

He was surprised when the girl didn't argue. Instead, she broke out in a huge grin and then leaned towards his ear, clearly trying to whisper, but not succeeding, "Then let's make her jealous!"

Leo opened his mouth to protest, but the girl seemed to take it as an open invitation to kiss him. The kiss was sloppy and involved a lot of tongue on her part; Leo scarcely responded before overcoming his shock and pulling away. Not offended, the girl simply laughed loudly, bending backwards in Leo's arms and spinning her head before straightening up again.

"You wanna get out of here?" she asked.

"No!" said Leo. Enough was enough. He reached behind his neck, detaching the girl's hands and taking a moment to steady her before he backed out of her reach. "I have to go back to work," he said.

"No," whined the girl. She stamped her foot and Leo ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. This was like dealing with a four-year-old.

Then, miraculously, the crowds seemed to part and a guy who looked to be the same age as the girl came through, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders. "There you are, Paige!" he said. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Go away, Glen!" she said. "I'm mad at you! And I'm dancin' with…_him_." She waved a hand in Leo's direction.

"No, we're done," said Leo forcefully. The guy rolled his eyes and didn't relinquish his grip on the girl.

"Come on, Paige," he said. "We're going home."

Paige tried to wrench away from her friend—boyfriend?—but he held on tight, so she started to shriek loudly. Leo was suddenly very thankful that Piper wasn't there.

"Can you give me a hand, buddy?" asked the guy. Leo nodded, glad someone was there to take care of Paige, and forced Paige's left hand over his shoulder. Together, he and the other guy managed to drag her out of the club and wrestle her into the passenger seat of a car, though she put up a hell of a fight.

"Thanks a lot," said the guy, holding out his hand for Leo to shake.

"Is she going to be okay?" asked Leo.

Something clouded the younger man's eyes and he shrugged. "Don't know," he said. "I hope so, though."

Leo sighed and glanced at Paige again. She had worn herself out apparently because she was now leaning against the window; her wig had slipped so it was sideways on her head and Leo could see a wisp of brown hair that had fallen across her face. "I hope so too," he said quietly.

The other man gave him a slight smile, clapped Leo on the shoulder, and then walked around to the other side of the car. Leo watched them until they had turned out of the parking lot and then headed back into the club.

* * *

**A/n: **This is another request story. **MissyPaige06 **requested this one too. I was going to do someone else's before I came back to hers, but this plot bunny attacked and I had to do it. Frankly, I wasn't sure I was going to pull off any kind of Paige/Leo fic that wasn't AU (because Piper and Leo are my favorite couple), but I think this turned out pretty well. I hope everyone liked it, and thanks very much for the suggestion! I had a lot of fun with this and would never have written it without the prompt. 

Once again, I'm still open to anyone's requests (I have a nice list going, and I will get to them all eventually). Thanks for any feedback!

_Katie_


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